West Virginia Criminal Law Blog

As reported in the Charleston Gazette today, Charleston lawyer, Roger Wolfe, who is a “senior labor and employment lawyer” with Jackson Kelly, was arrested on suspicion of DUI on June 17, 2007. Apparently he was taken to the South Charleston state police “barracks” (again, why do cops like to pretend that they are some type of pseudo-military), and when he smiled at a female trooper, she told him that she would wipe that smile off his face, and had a male cohort take him into an adjoining room. He was beaten so fiercely that he leaked cranial fluid out of his nose.

Then, as if to add insult to injury, the emergency room doctor allowed a trooper to come in and question him while he was in-and-out of consciousness, in order to cover their tracks. For instance, he was supposedly asked, “when you were speaking with the female trooper, do you remember trying to kiss her?” and “how did you get that knot on your head.” If all he had was a knot on his head, then why was he in the emergency room? And why did he spend a week in the hospital with “potentially life-threatening injuries?” What if he did try to kiss her? Is that worth the man’s cranial fluid on the floor? I would hope that other female law enforcement officers are embarrassed and ashamed of this…

Good luck to Mr. Wolfe. The sad thing is that had this guy not been a lawyer with a powerful firm, probably nobody would believe him. This matter better be under investigation by the state, and by the feds. These crooked cops deserve to be stripped of their badges and locked up with their prior arrestees.

You can read the full article here.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

From the Register-Herald today:

Matthew Peelish, a Raleigh County contractor, pled guilty to 3 counts of felony obtaining goods by false pretenses for taking money from people and not completing the work, and for obtaining materials from local merchants on an account and refusing to subsequently pay. The Court held him to task and sentenced him from 2 to 20 years.

This is extremely common here in Monroe and Greenbrier county, yet no one is ever prosecuted for it. Everyday people are prosecuted for some ridiculous things, and in these situations, you have real victims that lost real money. Yet 9 times out of 10, they have to resort to a civil action, which leaves them trying to collect a judgment years into the future, or worse, from a trustee in bankruptcy. The problem often cited by prosecutors is that it is difficult to show the requisite intent (intent not to pay at the time the goods are taken or money accepted) to prove the charges. But then again, since when do judges or juries hold prosecutors to their burden of proof anyways?

It really hurts a local business when a deadbeat contractor runs up an account of 5, 6 or 7 thousand dollars and then skips out on the bill. It should be prosecuted. Bravo to the Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney.

You can read the full article here.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

I have been asked many times recently what has happened with this case. Well, nothing has really happened since the sentencing has not yet taken place. The sentencing for these crooks will take place on June 30, 2008 before U.S. District Judge Thomas E. Johnston. There are also several civil cases currently pending in this matter, which undoubtedly will be detailed in the future.

You can read my previous post here.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

This is a story that I will detail in a later post if need be, but it rises to the situation where the public should be informed of this massive abuse of authority.

A southern West Virginia Chief of Police, who is a big guy and also a military veteran, had his little wife arrested by a buddy law enforcement officer for “domestic assault,” taken into physical custody, after which she was able to bond out with a $5,000 cash bond. For those of you who don’t know, $5,000 is the average bond for felonies in southern West Virginia.

This police chief then filed for divorce and refused to drop the frivolous criminal charge against her unless she agreed to his terms for the divorce. This story is continuing and may be updated based on future actions taken by the law enforcement officer.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

From the Register-Herald this morning:

A wrongful death lawsuit filed late Monday afternoon claims members of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department acted negligently when they shot and killed a Cabell Heights man who was firing a high-powered weapon in the early morning hours of July 4, 2006.

Filed by Charleston attorneys Michael A. Olivio and Travis A. Griffith on behalf of Mary Webb, the widow of Robert Webb, the suit lists defendants as the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, the Raleigh County Commission, Sheriff Danny Moore, then-Chief Deputy Steve Tanner, Deputy Greg S. Kade and Deputy John E. Hajash.

According to Register-Herald files and the complaint, Kade and Hajash were responding to a complaint that Robert A. Webb, 44, was playing loud music and shooting an AK-47 assault rifle outside his Cabell Heights home.

According to the lawsuit, Webb was discharging his firearm in celebration of his birthday and the Fourth of July holiday, but more than 30 minutes had elapsed between the firing of the weapon and the arrival of Kade and Hajash at the Webb residence.

The suit also claims “numerous residents within the neighborhood” were also firing weapons in celebration of the holiday and that Webb never fired his gun to threaten or endanger anyone.

The complaint claims Kade and Hajash parked away from the residence, out of sight, and approached on foot “while using cover to conceal their presence.” It also claims Kade took an assault shotgun from their patrol vehicle instead of his service standard handgun in spite of the fact the call was considered a “non-emergency nuisance call.”

When the deputies arrived on the scene at approximately 1 a.m., Webb was not shooting; still Kade and Hajash remained concealed by a row of trees until they witnessed Webb turn away from them, “at which time they ran toward Robert Webb in order to close the distance between them,” according to the complaint.

“Deputies Kade and Hajash proceeded up the street toward Mr. Webb and shot Mr. Webb while he was standing in the driveway of his home,” the complaint reads. “Deputies Kade and Hajash failed to identify themselves as law enforcement officers prior to firing their fatal shots at Mr. Webb.”

Webb was hit in the head and knocked to the ground by an initial shot from a shotgun, according to the complaint. While he was on the ground, one of the deputies shot him again with a handgun.

The complaint also claims emergency medical personnel were denied immediate access to Webb by members of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, who finished taking photographs before they allowed medical personnel to touch Webb.

Obviously there are two sides to every story, but if the allegations that are included in the complaint are true, then there were some real problems with the conduct of the law enforcement officers in this situation. Having formerly investigated pattern or practice police misconduct for the Department of Justice, the way these officers approached the scene jumps out at me as either gross negligence or reckless disregard for human life and proper police practices. First of all, shooting firearms into the air on the 4th of July is not an offense punishable by death. They should have approached in their cruisers with their emergency lights on. There was no allegation (apparently) that the victim was firing his weapon towards anyone else. It was obviously a 4th of July celebration. Secondly, the man was in his driveway, it was dark, and they sneaked up on him with a shotgun pointed at his face. It would have been understandable if the victim had shot at the officers. However, he did not - there apparently was no evidence that he attempted to shoot at them. It is uncontested that the victim never fired a shot. Having your head blown-off by a short-barrel shotgun is a pretty harsh way to die, and understandably, the family is looking to make the county pay.

Read the full article here.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

From the Charleston Gazette today:

Charges are expected to be filed against 19-year-old Andrew S. Hardin, of St. Albans, who allegedly shot and killed Nicholas Lee Caldwell while hunting turkey on Tuesday, state Division of Natural Resources investigators said.

Caldwell, 16, was in a wooded area off Kanawha Street near St. Albans when he was hit by shotgun pellets at about 8:30 a.m., said Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the DNR, which is investigating the incident.

People near the scene told investigators they saw 19-year-old Andrew S. Hardin, of St. Albans, hunting in the area. In an interview with officers, he later confessed he was the shooter, DNR officials said.

As in many other cases, usually the cover-up is more serious than the original crime. What if the victim was alive after the shooting and the shooter left him to die? In that case, he should face murder charges. The autopsy, which will almost positively take place, should indicate whether or not it was an immediate death.

The victim was hunting on private land near his home and he had permission to be hunting there. The shooter however, at least according to the article, appears not to have had permission to be hunting on this land. This is absolutely disgusting to me. As an avid turkey hunter, I have hunted around many other people, and almost every single one of them takes the proper safety precautions. Anyone who can’t tell the difference between a turkey and a hunter ought not to be in the woods in the first place. Furthermore, since this person was likely trespassing, he ought to go to prison for this.

You can read the entire article here.

- John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.

From the Register-Herald:

Another lawsuit filed against bank, officials in alleged cattle fraud case

By Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter

LEWISBURG — Another lawsuit has been filed against First National Bank of Ronceverte and two former bank officials, this time by an Illinois man who alleges disgraced cattle broker Kevin Scott O’Brien defrauded him out of $104,000.

The lawsuit, filed by Robert Dwyer, named First National Bank, former bank president Charles A. Henthorn and former board director G. Thomas Garten as defendants.

Henthorn and Garten recently pleaded guilty in federal court, Henthorn for taking $10,000 in bribes from O’Brien, and Garten for setting up bribes.

O’Brien pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge involving the sale of cattle in fraudulent Ponzi schemes. A sentencing date has not been set for any of the defendants.

Dwyer claims he gave O’Brien $104,000 in February 2006 for “80 pairs of heifers and their calves,” which should have been shipped to Dwyer’s farm in Carthage, Ill.

“Instead of arranging for the cattle to be trucked to Dwyer … O’Brien sold the cattle to Garten,” the lawsuit said. “O’Brien’s sale of the Dwyer cattle to Garten was simply one of the last acts of fraud and deceit in O’Brien’s continuing scheme.”

Dwyer claims the bank knew about the Garten deal, but looked the other way because O’Brien owed the bank money.

“The bank, through its senior management, including Henthorn and Garten, devised a scheme with O’Brien pursuant to which O’Brien would sell Garten cattle,” the lawsuit said. “The money that Garten paid for the cattle was to be deposited into O’Brien’s checking account in satisfaction of debts that O’Brien owed the bank.”

Dwyer is seeking punitive damages on the basis of fraud, civil conspiracy, and aiding and abetting a wrongful act, among other charges.

Dwyer is being represented by Charleston lawyer James W. Lane.

Neither Garten nor Henthorn could be reached for comment.

In February, another Illinois man, Frederic W. Nessler, filed a $340,000 lawsuit against the same three defendants alleging fraud.

O’Brien, who is currently mired in a multimillion-dollar bankruptcy, wasn’t named as a defendant in either suit.

— E-mail: cgiggenbach@register-herald.com

From the Register-Herald:

Man charged with conning 82-year-old

What a piece of trash this guy is. He gives a bad name to door-to-door vacuum salesmen everywhere. Shouldn’t there be some liability on the part of the car dealership? They were so eager to make a sale that they ignored an obvious problem. I would be interested to see an interrogation of this car salesman who allowed this to happen. There may not be any criminal liability, but there must be civil liability for negligence at the very least. - John H. Bryan, West Virginia Criminal Defense Attorney.

Deputies say $70,000 SUV purchased in scam

By Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

Raleigh County sheriff’s deputies say a Daniels man conned an 82-year-old woman into buying him a $70,000 SUV.

Steven Mitchell Cox, 30, of Daniels, is charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, according to Deputy J.L. Redden. Cox was taken into custody Thursday and released on $50,000 bond set by Magistrate Charles Humphrey.

Cox took the woman from Daniels to Beckley Auto Mall on Feb. 15, Redden said, and convinced her to sign for a 2008 GMC Yukon. Cox had told her she would simply be co-signing for the vehicle to help him establish credit, Redden said.

Cox also told staff at Beckley Auto Mall the woman was his grandmother and she wanted to buy him a vehicle, Redden said. Neither statement was true. Cox is not related to the woman, who signed and financed the Yukon.

It left the woman more than $70,000 in debt, Redden said.

Cox took the vehicle and all the paperwork, then kept it, Redden said. The woman discovered she had actually purchased the vehicle when she received registration forms from the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

The woman and Cox met through a business transaction when Cox was going door-to-door selling vacuum cleaners, Redden said. Cox also started a home improvement project for the woman that he never finished.

— E-mail:

apridemore@register-herald.com